The Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem presents “Witness: Themes of Social Justice in Contemporary Printmaking and Photography from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation” through Dec. 20 in the Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery and the Maribeth Collins Lobby.
Drawn from one of the legendary contemporary print collections in the United States, “Witness” explores issues of race, identity and social justice in contemporary printmaking and photography. The exhibition has been organized by Portland art historian and scholar Elizabeth Bilyeu and explores four thematic sections: Stories and Histories, Pressures of Pop Culture, Challenging Expectations of Place and Unconventional Portraits. The exhibition features 82 prints by 40 nationally and internationally recognized artists, including Enrique Chagoya, Lalla Essaydi, Mildred Howard, Hung Liu, Nicola Lopez, Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooka), Roger Shimomura, Kara Walker and Marie Watt (Seneca).
LeRonn Brooks, an assistant professor of African and African American Studies at Lehman College of the City University of New York, will deliver an illustrated lecture on the theme of social justice in modern and contemporary art on September 29 at 5 p.m., Admission to this series of lectures is complementary and they will be held in the Paulus Lecture Hall at the Willamette University College of Law located at 245 Winter St. SE, Salem, Oregon.
Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University
Public contact: 503-370-6855 | museum-art@willamette.edu
Exhibition website: willamette.edu/go/witness
IMAGE: Roger Shimomura (American, b. 1939), “Nisei Trilogy: The Camps,” 2015, ed. 4/50, lithograph, 18 1/2 x 27 inches, Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer, 2015. 794b. Photo: Strode Photographic LLC
HEAD: Salem museum presents social justice print/photo exhibit
The Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem presents “Witness: Themes of Social Justice in Contemporary Printmaking and Photography from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation” through Dec. 20 in the Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery and the Maribeth Collins Lobby.
Each month, the MJCC and PJA communities collect items for different area organizations in Portland.
In October, the MJCC/PJA will collect Thanksgiving foods for Jewish Family and Child Service. Items may be dropped off in the blue bin in the MJCC Lobby near the Member Services Desk.
The Torah tells us, “When we eat and drink in celebration, we are obligated to feed the stranger, the orphan and the widow.”
Jewish Family & Child Service invites the community to help people who are facing adversity feel more connected to their community. Continuing a 17-year tradition, JFCS will once again brighten the holiday season for needy individuals, families, Holocaust survivors and other seniors through the Thanksgiving Food Box Drive.
(Photo courtesy of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
Jewish playwright/two-time cancer survivor Valerie David’s sassy solo show The Pink Hulk comes to Portland in October.
The Pink Hulk, an award-winning solo show from New York City, will be making its Portland debut in the Come Inside Festival.
Valerie David, the actress and playwright behind The Pink Hulk, is of both Sephardic and Ashkenazi descent, and her Jewish humor and sassiness are featured in her show.
As a two-time cancer survivor, Valerie shares her experience with compassion and humor. The cancer community has connected with her show across the globe, and it has been receiving rave reviews and multiple awards, as Valerie has been touring the United States and Europe over the past two years. The play has been impacting audiences with its message of hope and empowerment. And there is plenty of humor in her show.
Valerie has also performed in 24 festivals, and at Rhode Island College’s Nursing Department, her show acted as an educational tool for students, nurses, faculty and staff, revealing what a cancer patient goes through in Valerie’s honest and humorous portrayal. She was just a finalist in the New York New Works Festival in Manhattan and won the WOW Award “for the show that inspired awe in audiences with its creativity, humour and content” for her performance at the Gothenburg Fringe Festival in Sweden.
COME INSIDE FESTIVAL PRESENTS:
The Pink Hulk: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within
Written and Performed by Valerie David
Directed by Padraic Lillis
SCHEDULE—Audience talkbacks to follow
Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7 pm
Friday, Oct. 12, at 5 pm
Saturday, Oct. 13, at 4 pm
Sunday, Oct.14, at 6 pm
CoHo Theater
2257 NW Raleigh Street
Portland, OR 97210
Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door.
https://www.merctickets.com/events/57361194/the-pink-hulk-oct-10-14
60-minute solo show with mature content
Synopsis:
Now battling breast cancer after fighting off lymphoma, Valerie does something most people facing cancer for the second time in their life probably wouldn’t think of doing. With a fear that she might lose “the girls”, she takes them out for one last hurrah. And does Valerie succeed? Is there a “happy ending”? Come see the show to find out! This sexy, adventurous solo show follows Valerie’s journey to seek her own “hulk-like” strength to find her superhero within. An empowering and true story of inspiration!
“The joy of this performance is in the honesty and the openness and the wonderfully warm and inclusive woman that is Valerie David…Ms. David has the kind of infectious spirit and deeply inspiring story that needs more than a one-woman show…how about a series?” – Los Angeles Review—NoHoArtsDistrict
“There is clearly nothing about Valerie that isn’t exceptional. The Pink Hulk is a triumph of the one-woman show format. The Pink Hulk is the apogee of cancer narratives; the zenith, the apex. You can’t get much better than this.” – DC Metro Theater Arts
The First Crusade and Jewish Martyrdom by William Chester Jordan, Princeton University
William Chester Jordan is Dayton-Stockton Professor of History and served as Chairman of the Department of History at Princeton University, where he teaches courses on the Middle Ages. Professor Jordan’s most recent books include A Tale of Two Monasteries: Westminster and Saint-Denis in the Thirteenth Century, Men at the Center: Redemptive Governance under Louis IX, and From England to France: Felony and Exile in the High Middle Ages.
Get Fit Israeli Dance with Dorice Horenstein
Tuesdays, Oct. 9-Dec. 11 (no class Nov. 20)
Weekly beginning and intermediate level Israeli dance class helps you get in shape, learn new moves, and listen to fun, Israeli music.
$90 for 9 weeks or $12/week drop-in. Contact JoAnn at: jbezodis@nevehshalom.org
- 9:15 am: Beginning Level—learn Israeli dance steps for novice dancers, lower impact workout.
- 10:15 am: Intermediate Level—for those familiar with basic Israeli dance and ready for higher impact workout.
Mah Jongg for Beginners
Learn to play this ancient game. It will give your mind a workout!
Registration Information: CG101, oregonjcc.org/registration
Cost: $100. Member Cost: $85.
Mah Jongg for Intermediate Players
Take your game to the next level!
Registration Information: CG102, oregonjcc.org/registration
Cost: $100. Member Cost: $85.
Israel Film Series
Calling all filmgoers! Join us for an array of Israeli films focusing on the topic of homelessness. A discussion with Q&A will follow each film, please see film details for specifics. Films to be announced soon!
Lost Boys of Portlandia
Wednesday, October 10
7:00 pm
Meet local Israeli filmmaker, Nili Yosha and Executive Director for Outside the Frame. In a riff on Peter Pan, homeless youth of Portland debate if and how to return to mainstream society while creating their own film version of the iconic story.
Diplomat
Tuesday, October 16
7:00 pm
The Hotel Diplomat in Jerusalem was once a five-star hotel. For nearly 20 years it is home to 600 immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Never having integrated into Israeli society, its residents have created their own little island, secluded from the outside world.
Zrubavel
Tuesday, October 30
7:00 pm
The personal dramas of the immigrant Zrubavel family and the universal intergenerational cultural struggles that come with assimilation are depicted in this first feature film made by Ethiopian Israelis.
Purchase tickets at oregonjcc.org/film
In partnership with the Institute for Judaic Studies
Internationally renowned jazz guitarist and oud virtuoso Amos Hoffman and world-class pianist/composer Noam Lemish will be touring the west coast of the US with their quartet to celebrate the release of their latest album. Pardes is an enchanting album offering an inspired blend of jazz, north African and latin rhythms as well as melodies that come from various Jewish communities across the Middle-East and Eastern Europe.
“Listening to Pardes…it’s easy to feel like you’ve been transported to a musically intoxicating garden of Eden” The Whole Note, May 29, 2018
“Exuberant jazz arrangements of Jewish songs” Canadian Jewish News, March 2, 2017
The tour is highlighted by an appearance at the historic Freight & Salvage in Berkeley and also includes concerts in San Francisco, Sacramento, Sonoma State University, Healdsburg and Portland. The quartet is comprised of a rhythm section featuring stellar Bay Area musicians Miles Wick on bass and Alex Aspinall on drums.
Hoffman
For years, Hoffman and Lemish have been collecting Jewish melodies from different parts of the world including Kurdish, Yemenite, Moroccan, Ladino, Russian and Israeli songs. The quartet’s lyrical and vibrant reimaginings of beloved Jewish melodies have been captivating audiences all across North America and their new album has been garnering rave reviews. In their two years of performances of the Pardes repertoire Hoffman and Lemish have played an array of festivals and venues in both the US and Canada including: Toronto Jazz Festival, numerous clubs in NYC, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Jewish Community Centers in Rochester and Columbia (SC) as well as to sold out audiences at UC Berkeley and San Diego State University.
Hoffman and Lemish, both of whom have roots in Israel but have spent much of their adult life in North America, began collaborating in January 2016. Lemish is deeply rooted in jazz and classical music and Hoffman is equally well-versed in jazz, Arab classical music, and North African vernaculars. Together they create a refreshing and compelling sound, filled with vibrant sonorities, unique instrument combinations and compelling arrangements.
Lemish
Their work together started when Lemish, who grew up admiring Hoffman’s pioneering blend of jazz & middle-eastern influences invited Hoffman for a series of performances in Canada. The two musicians clicked on their initial tour and decided to launch the Pardes project. The pairing of their unique talents and backgrounds brings about this truly exciting project.
The meaning of the word Pardes in Hebrew is “orchard” or “fruit garden”. The word also carries with it many layers of meaning in Jewish philosophy. Pardes is etymologically rooted in Farsi and is the origin of the word “paradise”. The songs presented in this project are both geographically diverse in origin and cover a wide-range of emotional terrain and sonic landscapes. The renditions are simultaneously faithful to the songs’ origins and rooted in the African-American and Afro-Caribbean musical traditions. The result is a joyous, uplifting celebration, texturally rich music, filled with groove, lyrical melodies and outstanding solos. In Pardes, Hoffman and Lemish breathe new life into gorgeous melodies that had been forgotten and create music that is appealing both to listeners completely unfamiliar with the melodies in their original context and to those who recognize these songs.
Israeli Dancing
Join us for a fun Israeli folk dance class. All levels are welcome. Six people needed to run class.
Wednesdays
September 26 – December 12
NO CLASS on October 10 or November 21
Cost: $100 Members + Guests. Drop-in Fee: $15 per class.
Register: CG 100: oregonjcc.org/registration